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Citing Rising Workload, Public Lawyers Reject Cases

By standdown

That's the title of a must-read report in today's New York Times by Erik Eckholm.  LINK  Here's the opening:Public defenders? offices in at least seven states are refusing to take on new cases or have sued to limit them, citing overwhelming workloads that they say undermine the constitutional right to counsel for the poor. Public defenders are notoriously overworked, and their turnover is high and their pay low. But now, in the most open revolt by public defenders in memory, the government appointed lawyers say budget cuts and rising caseloads have pushed them to the breaking point. In September, a Florida judge ruled that the public defenders? office in Miami-Dade County could refuse to represent many of those arrested on lesser felony charges so its lawyers could provide a better defense for other clients...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on November 08, 2008 (boomark / email).